In the latest chapter of the NBA-Clippers saga, Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling is publicly attacking the NBA for attempting to force the sale of his team after racist comments Sterling made to his girlfriend became public a month and a half ago.
In a statement Sterling released to the press Tuesday night, Sterling says among other things:
"The NBA is a band of hypocrites and bullies. They will not stop until someone stands up. They have taken the liberty to desecrate my privacy rights and my right to own property. I have no doubt that they will continue to find new ways to violate my rights and the rights of any other person in order to draw attention away from their own discriminatory and repulsive conduct. We have to fight for the rights of all Americans. We have to fight these despicable monsters. THIS IS THE REASON I WILL NOT SELL MY TEAM." [CNN]
Former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is set to buy the Clippers in a deal that was negotiated with Shelly Sterling, Donald's estranged wife and sole trustee of the Sterling family trust. Sterling had seemingly agreed to the sale a week ago, only to suddenly change his views Monday.
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Meanwhile, Shelly Sterling will be asking a judge for an expedited hearing on her takeover of the family trust, the Los Angeles Times reports, which has been pursued on the grounds that Donald Sterling is no longer mentally competent to make business decisions.